Despite tariff tensions, maritime  exercise ‘Malabar’ set for Nov

Despite India facing punitive tariffs from the US, a multi-nation annual marquee maritime exercise is on as per schedule in November with Japan and Australia also joining in.

Sources confirmed that Indian Navy warship INS Sahyadri would join the maritime exercise ‘Malabar’ to be hosted by the US at Guam, one of its military bases in the western-part of the Pacific Ocean. Guam, an island, is some 2,500 east of the Philippines.

The Indian warship has already left Indian shores and would be part of maritime engagements with several countries enroute to Guam.

The four-nation exercise called ‘Malabar’ is often dubbed by Beijing as ‘anti-China’, largely due to the fact that the four partners in ‘Malabar’ are also partners in the Quad.

India-US ties have plunged after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariff on India, among the highest in the world. Half of this tariff is punitive in retaliation for buying Russian crude oil. The other half stems from the stalled trade negotiations.

Last year in October, India hosted the ‘Malabar’, beginning with the harbour phase in Visakhapatnam, followed by the sea phase. The Malabar-2024 was carried out as of the most comprehensive version of all editions so far, incorporating complex operational scenarios, the Ministry of Defence had said after the exercise.

The Malabar, which began in 1992 as a bilateral naval drill between the US and the Indian Navy, has evolved into a key multilateral event aimed at enhancing interoperability to address shared maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region.

The exercise gains importance as all four countries operate the same maritime surveillance planes, which are also capable of hunting submarines. These planes can generate a common ‘picture’ of the sea.

The four also have in their arsenal other common platforms, which can enable seamless communication with each other.

Last year, the Malabar had its focus on a broad range of activities designed to enhance cooperation and operational capabilities, this year the tempo is expected to be the same.

This could include discussions on special operations, surface, air and anti-submarine warfare. Complex maritime operations such as anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, and air defence exercises could also be conducted at sea.